Extreme winds and heavy rain have reached eastern India and Bangladesh. Cyclone Amphan has killed at least 14 people, also exasperating efforts to fight Covid-19 in the two countries.
The massive storm, that came from the Bay of Bengal, reached land on Wednesday, unleashing its wrath on the region. Despite the precautions taken, the extremely bad weather has already inflicted massive damage.
Video from Digha, West Bengal. Super cyclone Amphan just about to have a landfall. pic.twitter.com/fDltZKgSC2
The cyclone turned out to be even more powerful than expected, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, confirming that at least 10 people were killed across the state. Around half-a-million people were evacuated from the most dangerous areas before the storm arrived.
The bad weather comes on top of the coronavirus outbreak which is still raging in the affected countries. The deadly disease has killed over 3,800 people across India and Bangladesh.
“Area after area has been devastated. Communications are disrupted,” Banerjee stated. “We are facing greater damage and devastation than the Covid-19.”
Kolkata has gone dark ! Unstable internet, roads closed, no power … Bengal facing a massive disaster… CM Mamata said that she was “shocked” to see such devastation Amphan@MamataOfficialpic.twitter.com/YIrpxqqPGz
— Thunderstorm Tracking (@track_thunder1) May 20, 2020
In India’s eastern neighbor, Bangladesh, at least four people have been killed by the cyclone so far. Some 2.4 million people were moved to storm shelters earlier this week, and the cyclone is expected to cause massive damage to the country’s infrastructure and agriculture.
